TEHRAN, March 10-Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country’s troops will enter Syria’s northern city of Afrin “at any moment,” less than two months after Ankara launched a full-scale cross-border offensive into the Arab country in a declared bid to eliminate the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants.
TEHRAN,Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country’s troops will enter Syria’s northern city of Afrin “at any moment,” less than two months after Ankara launched a full-scale cross-border offensive into the Arab country in a declared bid to eliminate the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants.
“Now our objective is Afrin... As of now, we have Afrin encircled. We can enter Afrin at any moment, God willing,” the Turkish leader told his ruling Justice and Development Party in the capital Ankara on Friday, a day after Turkish army soldiers took control of the strategic town of Jandairis west of Afrin.
“The operations in Afrin will continue until this swamp of terror is dried,” Erdogan warned.
The Turkish president's comments depict the country's increasing confidence to press its military operation against the Kurdish militants in the Afrin region to a successful conclusion after some 50 days of intense fighting.
Ankara, which has been waging the so-called Operation Olive Branch against the YPG forces in flashpoint region since January 20, has already said the offensive could extend to Manbij and beyond.
The military intervention came after the US said it would set up a 30,000-strong militant border force at Turkish doorstep. Ankara is wary of the presence of Kurdish militants close to its borders in Syria, and has been opposed to Washington's efforts to train and arm them in the Arab country.
Source:Press TV
Your Comment